H. Res. 617 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

June 12, 2014. 

Whereas, on the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female students, most of them between 15 and 18 years old, were 

abducted by Boko Haram from the Government Girls 

Secondary School, a boarding school located in the northeastern province of Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria; 

Whereas, all public secondary schools in Borno state were 

closed in March 2014 because of increasing attacks in 

the past year that have killed hundreds of students, but 

the young women at the Government Girls Secondary 

School were recalled to take their final exams; 

Whereas, Boko Haram burned down several buildings before 

opening fire on soldiers and police who were guarding the 

Government Girls Secondary School and forcing the students into trucks; 

Whereas, according to local officials in Borno state, 53 students were able to flee their captors, and the rest remain 

abducted; 

Whereas, there are reports that the abducted girls have been 

sold as brides to Islamist militants for the equivalent of 

$12 each; 
2 

•HRES 617 EH 

Whereas, the group popularly known as ‘‘Boko Haram’’, 

which loosely translates from the Hausa language to 

‘‘Western education is sin’’, is known to oppose the education of girls; 

Whereas, on April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in 

Borno state, and on May 2, 2014, Boko Haram bombed 

bus stations in Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 94 people 

and wounding over 160, making it the deadliest set of attacks ever in Nigeria’s capital; 

Whereas, Boko Haram has kidnapped girls in the past to use 

as cooks and sex slaves, and has claimed responsibility 

for the kidnapping in Borno state on April 14, 2014; 

Whereas, late May 5, 2014, suspected Boko Haram gunmen 

kidnapped an additional 8 girls, ranging in age from 12 

to 15, from a village in northeast Nigeria; 

Whereas, on May 7, 2014, Boko Haram killed at least 336 

people in Gamboru Ngala and burned hundreds of houses 

and cars; 

Whereas, on June 5, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped an additional 20 women from northeastern Nigeria, near the 

town of Chibok; 

Whereas, reports estimate that more than 500 students and 

100 teachers have been killed by Boko Haram and have 

destroyed roughly 500 schools in northern Nigeria, leaving more than 15,000 students without access to education; 

Whereas, Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, 

churches, villages, and agricultural centers, as well as 

government facilities, in an armed campaign to create an 

Islamic state in northern Nigeria, prompting the Presi-
3 

•HRES 617 EH 

dent of Nigeria to declare a state of emergency in three 

of the country’s northeastern states in May 2013; 

Whereas, human rights groups have indicated that the Nigerian state security forces should improve efforts to protect civilians during offensive operations against Boko 

Haram; 

Whereas, according to nongovernmental organizations, more 

than 1,500 people have been killed in attacks by Boko 

Haram or reprisals by Nigerian security forces this year 

alone, and that almost 4,000 people have been killed in 

Boko Haram attacks since 2011; 

Whereas, the enrollment, retention, and completion of education for girls in Nigeria remains a major challenge; 

Whereas, according to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), some 4,700,000 children of primary school age are still not in school in Nigeria, with 

attendance rates lowest in the north; 

Whereas, studies have found that school children in Nigeria, 

particularly those in the northern provinces, are at a disadvantage in their education, with 37 percent of primaryage girls in the rural northeast not attending school, and 

30 percent of boys not attending school; 

Whereas, women and girls must be allowed to go to school 

without fear of violence and unjust treatment so that 

they can take their rightful place as equal citizens of and 

contributors to society; 

Whereas United States security assistance to Nigeria has emphasized military professionalization, peacekeeping support and training, and border and maritime security; 

Whereas, the Department of State designated Boko Haram 

as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013, 
4 

•HRES 617 EH 

recognizing the threat posed by the group’s large-scale 

and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including 

women and children; 

Whereas Boko Haram is one of a number of radical Islamist 

terrorist organizations and extremist groups that pose a 

growing threat to United States interests in the region as 

well as broader peace and security; and 

Whereas these radical Islamist groups, which include Ansar 

al-Sharia, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the National 

Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, and others have carried out deadly attacks in the region and constitute a growing threat to North and West Africa: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) expresses its strong support for the people of 

Nigeria, especially the parents and families of the girls 

abducted by Boko Haram in Borno state, and calls for 

the immediate, safe return of the girls; 

(2) condemns Boko Haram for its violent attacks 

on civilian targets, including schools, mosques, churches, 

villages, and agricultural centers in Nigeria; 

(3) encourages the Government of Nigeria to 

strengthen efforts to protect children seeking to obtain 

an education and to hold those who conduct such violent 

attacks accountable; 

(4) commends efforts by the United States Government to hold terrorist organizations, such as Boko 

Haram, accountable; 
5 

•HRES 617 EH 

(5) supports offers of United States assistance to 

the government of Nigeria in the search for these abducted girls and encourages the government of Nigeria 

to work with the United States and other concerned governments to resolve this tragic situation; 

(6) recognizes that every individual, regardless of 

gender, should have the opportunity to pursue an education without fear of discrimination; 

(7) encourages the Department of State and the 

United States Agency for International Development to 

continue their support for initiatives that promote the 

human rights of women and girls in Nigeria; 

(8) urges the President to immediately strengthen 

United States security, law enforcement, and intelligence 

cooperation with appropriate Nigerian forces, including 

offering United States personnel to support operations 

to locate and rescue the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, and to support Nigerian efforts 

to counter this United States designated foreign terrorist 

organization; and 

(9) calls on the President to provide to Congress a 

comprehensive strategy to counter the growing threat 
6 

•HRES 617 EH 

posed by radical Islamist terrorist groups in West Africa, the Sahel, and North Africa. 

Attest: 

Clerk.